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Tag Archives: Self discipline

I think this is a better way to write my blog. To have continuity. That is important. I got inspiration from a book im reading on happiness written by Gretchen Rubin. So what am I going to do today? Its saturday, I have free time (or maybe not, there are tons of unresolved work to do at my job. Should I go there today or should I wait to monday?)

Anyway. Today, as a personal quest Im going to do 5 calm.com -app meditations. We always read or hear about how you should live this or that way. Usually we dont follow all the tips and tricks we read about. I wonder. How would it feel to live “scientifically” a day or two? I think I will try it. I am going to: Eat lots of vegetables, almost no sugar, meditate, work out, clean clutter, meditate (5 times) and try to get out in the sun. I will also try to turn off electricity (Wifi etc.) before i go to bed. Results? I will write about them tommorow.

So I should be tracking my happiness. But guess what? I just came back from work and its already in the evening. Sometimes when we plan, we plan when energy is high, sleep is good from the day before and we have lots of motivation. But sometimes, we get home. We do not want to do anything. Just exist. Wait for another day. Look at some television. Make the day go past. But I think its a wise thing to show up, to write, exercise or do whatever that is going to be beneficial for the future. After I came back from work I turned on the computer, edited some pictures, put up a blogpost (on an entirely different blog) and then logged on to my other blog to write this. So here you have it. Maybe not the best text, or not the most inspirational. But I guess it will do it for me. I have succeeded in doing my promises (which is post every day. Or nearly..)

I wonder how the world would be if I suddenly stopped doing things I usually do. I wake up, go home, eat, go out and exercise, go home, read and then sleep. Sometimes I do other things. But not with too much variaton. I have this nagging feeling that usually comes by bedtime. I normally read then. But the back of my mind keeps telling me that something has to change. I usually try to change something, but things quickly revert back to ordinary habit. Books on happiness tell you to be grateful for the things which you have. Happiness is already “within you.”

But I refuse to acknowledge that. I want something to change every constant moment. I wonder how to change. The answers are in the books which I read. They tell you do to microhabits, they tell you to take it gradually, to track, to make a list of certain long-term or small-term goals. I dont know and nobody probably ever will be able to figure out how to live life, to crack the code of change. Maybe it all boils down to taking things with ease. Make incremental changes in your day, such as writing daily blogposts (I forgot yesterday), or maybe save a little bit each day (I do it in index-funds). I know the effects of these things will not show after weeks or months. But what about after years? The money I monthly invest will eventually grow. The words written on these posts will also eventually do something. Maybe they make me more aware – or a better skilled writer? Maybe they will someday contribute to me writing a book? Or maybe they will end in quiet desperation. Who knows.

There is bliss in tracking something over time. In this I mean a bliss of seeing yourself change and becoming aware. Lets say you spend too much money. You track it over time, become aware, and then you stop wasting money on the unrecognizable small stuff.

What should be tracked? This is a great question. The question is arguably only limited by the imagination. You can now track an amazing number of things such as steps, heartrate, and sleep. But what about every pushup you take, or, every time you log on to facebook? You can also track how much time you spend watching television or how much time you look at the news. Then after seeing how much time invested – ask yourself “Will these behaviors make my life any better in the long term?.”

The reason for tracking is to become aware. To become aware is a good thing because then you ultimately know where your time go, where your life is leading and how you actually spend your time – “Wow now I know why I dont have time to exercise, why I am fat and why I am unhappy with my life.”

I argue that proficiency in time-awareness is one of the most important qualities one can have in life. I also believe thats what separate people. What you spend your time on, and how you spend your time – that is important things to consider. It is also a simple idea, but most of us tend to forget it in our everyday lives.

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